Chapter 404
Rattan had been constantly surprised and stunned since meeting Chief, but nothing compared to the feeling that washed over him at these words. "He had... magic?" The thought echoed in his mind, incredulous. Was he somehow one of those powerful beings from the tower, beings to whom even his masters bowed their heads? Did he possess the same talents as them?
Rattan’s mind raced, trying to reconcile the idea of himself wielding magic. It seemed impossible, absurd. He was just Rattan, a slave, a ratman. Magic was something reserved for the elite, for the mages in their towering spires, for the powerful beings his masters feared.
"But... the spider," Rattan stammered, his voice barely a whisper. "What about the spider? What is it?" He looked towards the space beside Chief, but he no longer saw the creature. It had vanished as suddenly as it had appeared.
Chief’s expression turned grim, the joy replaced by a deep-seated fear. "The spider..." he repeated, his voice low and ominous. "It’s... one of them."
"One of who?" Rattan asked, his confusion deepening.
Chief took a deep breath, steeling himself to reveal the truth he recently found out. "One of the empire’s enemies," he said, his voice heavy with dread. "The ones my people sought out in our desperation for power." He paused, his gaze fixed on some unseen point in the distance. "The demons."
The word hung in the air, chilling Rattan to the bone. Being capable of posing such a problem to the empire and their mages, the idea that such a creature had been... There, watching him, was deeply unsettling.
"But... why?" Rattan asked, his voice trembling. "Why would a demon... be with you?"
Chief shook his head slowly, his eyes filled with a mixture of fear and resignation. "I don’t know for certain," he admitted. "But... it might have something to do with my stubbornness, my refusal to succumb to her will. It seems to please her. Watching me writhe in pain, watching me struggle... It brings her great joy. Her chuckle at those moments has been a constant source of nightmares for me."